Trauma Clinic for Children and Young People

Transcription

1 Trauma Clinic for Children and Young People

2 2 Who we are We are an NHS team of psychological therapists and outreach workers who specialise in supporting children and adolescents who have experienced trauma. We are part of the Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service. Just like the community, our team is a combination of people from different backgrounds offering therapeutic support as well as outreach.

3 3 Common reactions to trauma Following a traumatic or frightening event such as the fire at Grenfell Tower, it is normal for children to experience difficulties. Each child will react differently, but these are some common reactions that you may notice in your child: Pictures or thoughts of the traumatic event suddenly popping into their mind Nightmares Feeling angry or easily upset Becoming more clingy with parents or carers Physical Complaints (Headaches, stomach aches) Not wanting to think about or talk about the traumatic event Avoiding going to places that remind them of the traumatic event Sleep problems Difficulty concentrating When someone experiences several of these issues, for more than a month, they may have what is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Traumatic Grief We know that many people in the community are grieving the loss of loved ones following the fire. It is normal to experience grief after the death of a loved one. Grief is not an illness and there is no single right way to grieve. Everybody is different. Sometimes, when the way that the loved one died was particularly frightening or upsetting, the memory of how the person died can get in the way of the grieving process, making it harder to come to terms with.

4 4 How can we help? For some children, these issues will resolve gradually over time. However, for others these issues can continue to interfere with a child s everyday life. As part of our screening, we ask the parent and child if they have experienced the reactions mentioned above. The support we offer can help with these reactions, as well as other Grenfell-related issues that are not listed. If you have noticed that your child has some of these reactions, please contact us to discuss a referral to the service.

5 How can my child get referred? If you know a young person you would like to refer to our service, or would like to refer your own child we have made the referral process really simple you can either: 5 Fill in the simple self-referral form on our website: Call the Grenfell Health & Wellbeing Service number on and ask to speak to the children s team Ask your GP We also have Outreach workers in the community who you can approach and talk to about a referral. Once a referral has been received we move onto screening.

6 6 What is a screening? A screening is a brief conversation with parents where we ask questions about their child s emotional wellbeing. If a child is over 8 years old, we would like to speak to the child as well. This can be done face to face or over the phone. If it seems like a child is having emotional difficulties, we would like to meet them and their parent for an assessment. What is an assessment? An assessment is a face to face meeting with you, your child, and one of our psychological therapists. This is to have a better understanding of a child s emotional difficulties, and explore options for support.

7 7 What support is offered? The support our service offers is trauma-focused therapy. This can be done in different ways. It usually involves either individual therapy, where a child meets with a therapist on a one-to-one basis, or group therapy, where the child is part of a larger group of children who are having therapy at the same time from a therapist. We may also work with whole families together.. Sometimes parents may feel they only need information on how they can support their child who may be struggling since the fire; this is also something we can help with, we have a range of different tips and techniques we can offer parents as well as informative leaflets and information we can give you. We are flexible with how we offer support. We are based at St Charles Centre for Health and Wellbeing, but we are also able to meet with young people and their families in schools, community settings (such as the Curve, or Grenfell United) and on occasion even your home. We have team members who speak a range of different languages, and we can also use interpreters if needed. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us on and we would be very happy to talk to you.

8 This document is also available in other languages, large print, Braille, and audio format upon request. Please Arabic Farsi Bengali Dokumentigaan waxaa xitaa lagu heli karaa luqado kale, daabacad far waa-wayn, farta indhoolaha (Braille) iyo hab dhegaysi ah markii la soo codsado. Somali Mediante solicitação, este documento encontra-se também disponível noutras línguas, num formato de impressão maior, em Braille e em áudio. Portuguese Tamil Este documento también está disponible y puede solicitarse en otros idiomas, letra grande, braille y formato de audio. Spanish Dokument ten jest na życzenie udostępniany także w innych wersjach językowych, w dużym druku, w alfabecie Braille a lub w formacie audio. Polish Gujurati Be belge istenirse, başka dillerde, iri harflerle, Braille ile (görme engelliler için) ve ses kasetinde de temin edilebilir. Turkish Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, 350 Euston Road, Regent s Place, London NW1 3AX Tel: Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust July 2018